Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pattern formation method and an article manufacturing method.
Description of the Related Art
An imprint technique has received attention as one of lithography techniques for manufacturing an article such as a semiconductor device or a MEMS. The imprint technique arranges an imprint material on a substrate and cures the imprint material in a state in which the imprint material is in contact with a mold, thereby forming a pattern. The imprint technique can be used together with a photolithography technique using a projection exposure apparatus in manufacturing the article. For example, a method of forming one layer by the projection exposure apparatus and forming another layer on that layer by an imprint apparatus can be adopted.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-29070 describes a method of forming the first pattern by using a projection exposure apparatus, and then forming the second pattern by using an imprint apparatus. In this method, the shape of the first pattern formed by using the projection exposure apparatus is corrected so as to match the shape of the second pattern formed by using the imprint apparatus.
At present, a time required to form the pattern by using the imprint apparatus is much longer than a time required to form the pattern by using the projection exposure apparatus. To cope with this, in equipment (so-called cluster) in which a plurality of imprint apparatuses are assigned to one projection exposure apparatus, there is considered a technique of forming patterns by using the plurality of imprint apparatuses concurrently with a plurality of substrates each on which a pattern is formed by using one projection exposure apparatus. When the plurality of imprint apparatuses are used, an individual difference that exists between them may become a problem. For example, a mold holding mechanism and a substrate holding mechanism can be different from each other in flatness of a holding surface in the plurality of imprint apparatuses.
When the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-29070 is applied to a method of manufacturing an article by assigning the plurality of imprint apparatuses to one projection exposure apparatus, a correction amount in the projection exposure apparatus can be changed in accordance with each of the plurality of imprint apparatuses. However, it is troublesome and inefficient, for example, in one lot, for the projection exposure apparatus to perform exposure in accordance with the correction amount according to each of the plurality of imprint apparatuses to be processed later. Moreover, in this method, on a substrate on which the projection exposure apparatus forms a pattern for a certain imprint apparatus, only the imprint apparatus can form a next pattern. For example, if an imprint apparatus stops due to a breakdown or the like, a next pattern cannot be formed on the substrate on which the projection exposure apparatus forms a pattern for the imprint apparatus. This causes a delay in processing the lot, and thus it is inefficient.